After a big lunch, I headed on down to Luna Park. As to be expected, Cityrail threw a few obstacles my way. When I got there I got a bit freaked out. Thought I may have turned up on the wrong day. It's not the first time that has happened to me before. There were families and kiddies, joy and laughter. Something I wasn't expecting and didn't feel too comfortable with. Turns out Luna Park was actually a fully functioning fun park again. When did that happen? No one told me! But with the correct wristband, along with unlimited rides, today you can also get into two indoor areas and check out the Come Together festival.
Something concocted by the owners to showcase Luna Park as a viable live music venue. Fun park too loud for local residents, so let's get into live music instead? I like the way they think! The Big Top was a nice, large indoor twin stage set up. And somewhere else was a more haphazard, poorly jumbled together room with no air where the stage was not much higher than the rest of the floor. So your chances of seeing anything from the third row back is pretty poor there.
When I finally got there, Machine Translations were a song or two into their set. Everybody only gets a half hour. Third time seeing J. Walker and friends since the release of Venus Traps Fly and this time again, like when seeing them play out at the Hordern, it felt like it didn't really work. This band in a large room just doesn't feel right. The spark, the cute quirkiness, it's missing it somewhat. I still love them and no doubt will be catching them many times more in the future. Just hope it'll be in more suitable, cosy surroundings next time.
Youth Group next up. A group I had been meaning to catch for quite a while. The same can probably be said for many acts on the bill today. The whole twin stage operation is running very smoothly, better than the Big Day Out ever managed. And these guys only had half an hour to set up. Impressed, I am. Anyway, Youth Group. Very nice, pretty mellow set. The most rocking tune was the big hit Shadowland. I can imagine it may be annoying to some, but I'm quite fond of this guy's singing voice. Nice to see I didn't have to wait till Rocket Science later on tonight to check out some hot theremin action. Some kids around me were getting too happy and excited for the music. Normally, being the grumpy old music nut that I am, I would be upset at their over enthusiasm. But I'm fine with it today. This all ages gig is probably the first gig they've ever been too. And if they weren't so loud about it, I would even say it was almost cute.
Something that wasn't cute was the Flairz. The fuck? A bad joke I wasn't let in on, a trio of underaged kids playing AC/DC covers or whatever the fuck. What is this? School assembly music break? I don't know. I don't really want to know. I just know it's not right. I find it almost offensive that Youth Group and Machine Translations were below this on the line up. I know it's only for half an hour, I should just let them have their moment of silliness and go find some acceptable carnival food (if there ever was such a thing) or go check out the free rides.
Came back to give the Dappled Cities Fly another shot. Sounding better this time around then when I last saw them on Cockatoo Island. Some over styled hair, some excessive rock moves, but anything is pretty decent after seeing the closing five minutes of the Flairz.
Big Heavy Stuff put things into perspective. Liked their stuff for quite a while, never realised they were a brunch of oldies. Not old, but older than the typical rocker here, with receding hairlines and all. But I'd much rather see this lot play out than the Flairz or even the all of a sudden, oh-so-trendy Dappled Cities Fly any day. By the first chorus it was already immediately apparent that Big Heavy Stuff just had better songs. Others may say more boring, mellow songs. They may even murmur with a hint of disgust the term "adult contemporary". But it was all right with me.
Gelbison up next. Haven't caught these guys since their new album's come out. Was a bit worried seeing as I didn't like their new lp as much. But this was another excellent set for the day. Starting off with a promise to change the world in half an hour, right away you'll either love them or hate them for that alone. I was willing to go with it. Mid way through their set, they fulfilled an earlier, obscure request of "home and away" and began to play a cold and sombre keyboard and acoustic guitar rendition of the theme to the TV trash-soap Home and Away. "Hold me in your arms, don't let me go, I want to stay, forever... Closer each day..." This led to some rather crude jeers and heckles from a drunken bogan in the crowd, something that the lead Kahn brother dealt with with much style and panache, with some very funny results. Very nice work. Sarah Blasko also popped up on stage mid way through to sing along and lend her skills on the tambourines. By the time the set was coming to a close, there was a near Polyphonic Spree-esque mass on stage with too many guests getting up to jam on way too many tambourines and shakers.
I have never spent so much time at the main stage of a music festival before. I really dig the line up and how smoothly it's all operating. Mighty impressed am I. But I did have to leave for a while to visit the other, poor excuse for a stage, because one of the big reasons I showed up today was to check out the Grates. Like some kids kicked out of drama school for being too hyperactive deciding to start a rock band. There was an extra air of excitement before this band got on stage. Maybe it's because we're all packed in together and lacking any real air, maybe it's because here we're not all covered in darkness, or maybe it's because we felt this band really is something special. One girl on drums, one guy on guitar and a girl called Patience up front on the mic and the hyper dance moves. It was exciting, loud, noisy like new punk music with an emphasis on fun instead of some stupid attitude. But on a totally different page to the Spazzys. It was one of the real highlights of the day, even if actually seeing the band proved to be quite difficult.
Got back to the main stage and caught the tail end of the Mess Hall. Two fellers doing rock'n roll. Nothing revolutionary, but they do what they do pretty well. Enough to get a crowd excited. Reminds me of Spiderbait, when Kram takes the lead and they just do these long rocking, stomping numbers that gets the whole crowd moving but leaves me feeling a bit left out when I don't feel for it as much as the rest of the crowd does.
I had already seen the Red Sun Band many times and I keep hearing the Presets, who were playing elsewhere at the same time, are the next band to really watch out for. But I really wanted to see this, and the other stage needs better ventilation. In the past I may have said that if the Red Sun Band were signed to a large record label, this could be chart topping music. Seeing them play out to a large room like this, I'm not so sure anymore. At points it felt like it wasn't really working out. I loved it, but the crowd around me doesn't seem to be really getting into it, not cheering or responding much. Later on in the set it was interesting to see Sianna from Love Outside Andromeda in the darkness on the adjacent stage stood motionless and transfixed at Sarah and friends building up their great walls of dreamy drone rock noise and feedback. Then I thought, well, the crowd's still here, of course we all love it, everyone's just mesmerised by the sounds. It's not cheery music, but there's something weirdly hypnotic going on, for me at least.
Love Outside Andromeda. Formerly Andromeda, but too many bands wanted to call themselves that, so this one had to change. I was all set to catch them play out earlier in the year, but my plans fell through at the last minute. Things like that hurt me for ages and stays troubling my soul until I resolve the situation and make things right. Tonight things were made right again. Like the previous (and the next) act, one album in and already sounding mighty impressive and deserving of a lot more. Why aren't these bands in the charts? They're not doing anything totally freaky and incomprehensible, this is more straight forward and more pop orientated than, say, Infusion, who I have seen on Video Hits. All these brilliant girl led acts! Who doesn't love a girl rock star? Maybe Red Sun Band's a bit sad and dreary, Love Outside Andromeda swears too much, but what's wrong with Sarah Blasko? More on her later. Love Outside Andromeda rock hard right now and I sure hope they won't change or soften their sound much to chase sales figures. Squealing guitars and Sianna's voice stand out above most of the acts that's been on the stage today. Could have done without some of the silly rock moves that brought back memories of the Flairz. Memories I don't need.
Sarah Blasko, now in a big red dress, with a large band in support. I have found it frustrating that her pop music has traces of electronica on the fringes but it never really steps out to the front. Likewise live, trippy echo filled electro intros keep giving way to strumming guitars in the body of the songs. Unexpectedly, this was possibly the best show of the day. All Coming Back was a major highlight of the day, let alone the set, despite some silly mistakes in the beginning when most of the band walks off and Sarah for the only time in the set has a go at an instrument herself. Ms Blasko really deserves even greater success and recognition. If this was what was topping the charts, this country could be a better place.
By this time of the day I was starting to get too tired for something like Gerling. Playing mostly songs from their Bad Blood album. Damn it. After all this time I was really hoping for some new Gerling sounds and they only played one song that I think may be new. At least I couldn't recognise it in my tired and confused state. A slow, building piece of rock a-la Death In Vegas' better moments opened up their set for the night. Then they proceeded to play a fairly typical Gerling set. Get Activated, In the City, Ole, Who's Your Daddy... Fun for most people, but I really could have done with more new sounds. I feel slightly let down from my initial high expectations.
But the disappointment of the day may well be Infusion. Would be unfair to say it was fully their fault. Throughout the day the sound at the main stage has been up and down in quality and for them the sound mix just wasn't working out too well where i was stationed. And this kind of music really needs more time to build up and break down and all that. Didn't really like the idea of them getting so many guitar players into their live sets. Who do they think they are? This was a rock festival and a rock crowd and good as they were it just wasn't working out. Hope to catch them another day at a more suitable gig.
Left after that because I was too tired and also quite confused as to why a band like End Of Fashion would be on so late. For a band that hasn't even had the album out yet and two hit songs at best. Surely it's not just because there are former Sleepy Jackson members in the band? But Cityrail has set out some complicated traps for me, I needed to catch a bus from one train station to the next, then change trains? Cityrail just keeps trying harder and harder to trip me up and if I was to get home tonight I had to start my journey early.
It's been a fantastic day, much better than I was ever expecting, and now with talk of another show like this before the end of this year, I can't wait to do it all again.